The Denna Dilemma
by hrhrionastar
Summary: AU: What if Denna joined the Merry Band at the end of Light? Zedd/Denna, Richard/Kahlan, Cara/Kahlan. Spans season 2 from Light to Tears.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: The Denna Dilemma  
><strong>CharactersPairing**: Zedd/Denna, Richard/Kahlan, Kahlan/Cara (also implied Cara/Leo, Cara/Dahlia, and past Darken/Cara and Darken/Denna)  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: heavily for all of season 2, particularly post Light  
><strong>Beta<strong>: brontefanatic, with my heartfelt gratitude. All remaining mistakes are my own.  
><strong>Summary<strong>: My answer to the discussion question on peoplespalace: What if Denna joined the Merry Band at the end of Light?

* * *

><p>"You really think I could be a better person?"<p>

Although Zedd had not hesitated, at agiel-point, to assure Denna she had all his confidence, he was starting to regret that Kahlan had supported his decision.

"What would Richard do?" she'd asked simply.

Cara had actually turned away in order to roll her eyes, and added in an annoyed hair toss, which was a sure sign that she was either deeply upset or angry.

And now the four of them were seated around the fire, Kahlan and Cara pointedly ignoring Denna and talking in low voices, and Denna with her arms crossed, sulking because Cara had taken her white agiel, where it now contrasted oddly with her red leathers in a holster at her calf.

Zedd didn't feel up to inaugurating further conversation with Denna, after his desperate attempts over the past several days to convince her to give up her evil ways and join the cause of good, so he just watched her.

She sat very straight, her hair hanging in a tangled blonde mess down her back, and her hands on her knees. Without her Mord'Sith leathers, Denna looked vulnerable and heartbreakingly young.

"So…you aren't just wandering the Midlands nearly getting killed for the fun of it," Denna said at last. "Cara told me Richard is the true Lord Rahl, but I know he's done nothing to claim the throne."

"We're looking for the Stone of Tears," Zedd told her, reflecting that surely that at least was common knowledge, since Flynn knew the whole story, and a more unreliable person would be hard to find. And then, too, Denna must have heard at least half a dozen garbled versions of the peril in which the world now stood from her contacts in the D'Haran Army. Would General Grix have guessed why Richard traveled the Midlands instead of claiming the throne of D'Hara? Would he have cared?

Zedd tried to show Denna there was more to be concerned with than the D'Haran succession: "The Veil to the Underworld has been torn, and unless we succeed all life will perish and the Land of the Living will belong to the Keeper forever."

Denna gave Zedd a sharp look. "I see," was all she said.

Zedd could only hope he had impressed her with the gravity of their mission, and that she would at least refrain from sabotaging it further…she was dangerous, but their time together had certainly shown him she had a zest for life.

* * *

><p>Kahlan had gotten out of the habit of sleeping with her daggers under her pillow, when she decided to trust Cara.<p>

There had followed several nights during which she slept poorly, sure Cara would kill them all as soon as she had the chance.

But when Denna brought Dennee back from the dead to be revenged on Cara, Kahlan's relief at having her sister returned to her had made it easy to defend Cara from Dennee's wrath.

Now she need not feel guilty for trusting and liking Cara, because Dennee was safe.

And yet it was Denna who had returned Kahlan's sister to her. It confused Kahlan to feel gratitude to the woman who had almost taken Richard from her, twice.

And she knew better than to assume Denna had any other motive but her own advancement. She would turn on them all as soon as she saw the opportunity.

Denna was surely a new dilemma.

"You can't be serious!" Cara had protested, her low voice venomous. "_Her?"_

"It's no different than when Richard trusted you," Kahlan had maintained, trying not to let Denna overhear their dispute. "Cara, what happened to you when you were a girl…Denna must have gone through something similar. How can I not give her the same opportunity I gave you to show she's changed her ways?"

"She is nothing like me." Cara spoke through gritted teeth. "Richard and I…shared an experience that…we spent _weeks_ in that desolate reality—! Denna _killed_ Richard, or don't you remember—?"

Kahlan did remember, and her lips tightened at the reminder. But having spared Denna's life, how could she turn around and kill her now? Richard would disapprove.

Still, if—or when—Denna betrayed Zedd's faith in her, Kahlan would not hesitate to strike.

That night she slept with the sheathed Sword of Truth in her arms, thinking of Richard.

He was at the Palace of the Prophets, learning to become a Wizard. Kahlan herself had told him to go with Sister Verna, but now that Zedd was with them again, she wished Richard had waited. Surely his grandfather, a Wizard of the First Order himself, could have taught Richard how to control his Han.

Kahlan could not let herself miss Richard, or she would start to cry and never stop.

* * *

><p>"How am I supposed to fight?" Denna asked bitterly.<p>

Cara had tied her hands together, and she still had Denna's agiel.

"I'm sure you'll manage," Cara said sardonically.

She was taking no chances that Denna would escape. If Kahlan wouldn't allow her to kill Denna, the next best option was keeping her under constant surveillance.

The new Seeker, Leo Dane, proved an unexpected distraction, however.

"Why are that woman's hands tied?" he asked, after Zedd had named him Seeker and they'd set off following the compass. He nodded at Denna, who was walking with Zedd.

Kahlan, Cara noted, was walking alone. She was taking Richard's absence hard.

"She's our hostage," Cara said shortly.

"We're giving her a second chance," Kahlan added, loud enough for everyone to hear. "A _last_ chance."

Denna scowled, and stumbled over a rock on the path. Apparently without thinking, Zedd reached out and caught her arm, sparing her an ignominious fall.

Cara rolled her eyes. The Wizard was too kindhearted.

"So, if she's on her second chance…" Leo asked quietly, "what did she do with her first one?"

Cara did not relish the prospect of explaining Denna to anyone, much less Leo, who seemed to have no conception of the danger posed by a Mord'Sith.

A renegade Mord'Sith was an even greater threat, since Denna, as far as Cara could ascertain, felt no loyalty to anyone. She had betrayed Darken Rahl…

So had Cara. But the cases were different—Darken had not seen what Cara and Richard had, in that future that would never be.

"Cara?" Leo asked.

"She wasted it," Cara said harshly. She doubted Denna would have the wisdom not to do the same again.

* * *

><p>Only when Richard finished kissing Kahlan hello did he bother to greet her companions.<p>

Although it had only been days for him since they parted, he felt as though he and Kahlan had been separated for years, and was more thankful than he ever had been for anything that his nightmares in the Valley of Perdition had been false.

The joy of holding the real Kahlan in his arms was bliss, the very antithesis of the hopelessness of the Underworld.

Still, all good things must end; Richard looked up.

Zedd was smiling in relief that Richard was safe; Verna was looking austere, and Richard guessed she was still angry with him about Nicci; Cara was on her knees beside a body too badly burned to be revived; and Denna was examining a dacra that had once belonged to a Sister of the Dark.

Wait—Denna?

"What is she doing here?" he demanded of Kahlan.

Kahlan shrugged. "Zedd says she wants to be a better person."

Richard accepted this, and was even glad that Denna had apparently come to her senses, but doubts remained with him. He knew he trusted too easily.

Denna was trouble. She'd proved that more times than he could count, and Richard had not forgotten her scheme to take over D'Hara using his body (though not his soul), as her puppet.

"Are you sure we can trust her?" he asked Zedd that night.

They were just finishing dinner, which had been unusually good; Richard noted with approval that Kahlan was encouraging Cara to eat, despite her sorrow.

Zedd looked up, but before he could answer, Denna said coolly, "You already have, Richard. I cooked, remember? I could have poisoned you all."

At that, Kahlan gave a slight gasp, horrified.

Cara gave no sign that she'd even heard.

"I didn't, though," Denna said flatly.

Richard wondered how Cara could be such a terrible cook and Denna a good one, since they were both Mord'Sith; but he did not wonder at his grandfather's championship of the woman who'd made_ this_.

Nonetheless, good at cooking was not the same as good at life.

* * *

><p>"They're just waiting for me to fail," Denna complained to the Wizard.<p>

Somehow, they'd gotten into the habit of walking together. He was marginally less irritating than the others.

"Can you blame them?" he asked.

Denna chose not to answer.

"Even Richard expects me to fail," she said, after a moment. "He believes in Cara, but not in me."

It might be said—and had been, several times—that Denna had given Richard no cause to believe in her.

But it was the same with the Wizard—with Zedd—and he was the only person who didn't give Denna the feeling that every time she opened her mouth he expected to see fangs.

It was his fault that she was starting to care what Richard, Cara, and the Mother Confessor thought about her.

No matter what her own feelings, she had to convince them of her desire to change. She was totally dependent on them now.

But there were days when she found herself wishing the Wizard's friends were her friends, too.

Folly—she had no choice but to join their quest for now, but the moment she saw a way to claim the throne of D'Hara…she was just using them. Friends were for the helpless, and she had not yet sunk so low as to wish that the four of them cared for her.

Ahead, Richard, Cara, and the Mother Confessor were chatting happily, all about the Falls of Aldermont and romance. Denna knew Richard was sentimental, but she'd expected more from Cara.

Suddenly, a shift in the wind carried the smell of rotting flesh to all five of them, and the Mother Confessor stopped babbling on about pink waters and love and frowned.

Denna and the Wizard followed Richard, Cara, and the Mother Confessor to where several bodies hung from a tree, swaying gently.

While Cara expressed contempt for the unknown killers' technique, the Mother Confessor read the notice of the men's execution in dawning horror.

Cara was right about the executioners' lack of finesse, but Denna couldn't muster up the energy to care. She could have done better than this the day she first got her leathers.

Creator, how she missed the armor of a Mistress of the Mord'Sith—

"That's the seal of Aydindril!" the Mother Confessor exclaimed.

They all crowded around to examine the design and its attendant warning message.

Apparently, someone named Prince Fyren had usurped the Mother Confessor's throne in Aydindril.

This was such a good idea—after Lord Rahl was killed the Midlands had been in utter uproar—that it momentarily took Denna's breath away. Why hadn't she thought of it?

Denna was still admiring the brilliance of Fyren's scheme when a wizard of the second order appeared out of nowhere, and Zedd and the Mother Confessor disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and she had to bite back a ridiculous protest.

_Don't leave me,_ she wanted to say. The Wizard was only kind to her out of some misplaced sense of honor, but that comfort was one Denna was not at all anxious to relinquish.

* * *

><p>Cara stalked back and forth in front of the burned out embers of their fire, definitely not listening to Richard and Kahlan sneaking off to consummate their love under the stars, now that Kahlan had lost her powers.<p>

"How do you stand them?" Denna asked.

Cara frowned. If Denna had possessed a shred of either consideration or self-preservation, she would have been asleep at a time like this.

"Richard is the Lord Rahl," she replied, as best she might. "And Kahlan is…"

"So emotional," Denna supplied. "It's astonishing that those two defeated Lord Rahl—although I understand you provided them with much-needed assistance."

Cara stopped pacing. "Well?" she demanded, drawing her agiels.

A Mord'Sith did not pull out a weapon she didn't mean to use, but Denna seemed unperturbed, not even wincing as she dragged Kahlan's hairbrush ruthlessly through her long, tangled mane.

Cara hated that Denna was using Kahlan's hairbrush, and that Richard had long since insisted Cara not bind her hands, and that Cara herself had been forced, because the peasant gown was practically in tatters after weeks of travel, to go into town and order a leather dress for Denna that bore a passing resemblance to Kahlan's, although Denna's was brown and not nearly so pretty…

_Denna_ was drop-dead gorgeous, though. She always had been.

It was this, in Cara's opinion, that made her so insufferable. Denna knew the power of her beauty—she used it to break men before she ever struck them with her agiels.

Cara had always distained such overly feminine tricks. (In some ways, Denna had been eminently suited to running a brothel.)

But Cara considered using beauty that way to be cheating.

"You're just as much of a traitor as I am," Denna hissed. "When you reach the Underworld, do you think Lord Rahl will forget how you served Richard?"

"Richard," Cara repeated, "_is_ Lord Rahl."

All at once, an idea came to Cara—a way of, just possibly, shaming Denna into obedience…_if_ Denna were capable of feeling shame, which would actually be a surprise.

When Richard finally returned to camp, Cara paused to pull a leaf from his hair before putting her plan into execution—a move she regretted when Kahlan threw a tantrum and lost her mind.

"Over the top even for you," Denna observed dispassionately to Kahlan, who, quite forgetting that she'd lost her powers, grabbed Denna's throat with a purposeful expression.

After that, it was all Cara could do to get them safely to Aydindril to find out what the Underworld was going on.

* * *

><p>Richard had only just regained Kahlan, this time her full and wonderful self, when Cara insisted they all stop for a moment.<p>

Richard, still feeling guilty for not having been able to tell at once that Kahlan wasn't quite herself when they had made love, wasn't paying much attention to anything else.

Cara pulled Denna forward, not very gently, and pushed her to her knees.

Denna glared, and Zedd raised his eyebrows.

"Master Rahl guide us," Cara said, her gloved hand tightening on Denna's shoulder.

Richard winced. "Cara, you know I don't—"

"Master Rahl teach us," Cara went on, and Denna reluctantly added her voice to the chorus. "Master Rahl protect us. In your light we thrive. In your mercy we are sheltered. In your wisdom we are humbled. We live only to serve. Our lives are yours."

It was like a preview of what awaited Richard if he were ever forced into assuming the title of Lord Rahl.

Denna was looking murderous, and Richard did not feel Cara forcing the issue was going to help keep the peace.

"I don't—I'm not—" Richard said incoherently. He looked to Kahlan for help, but she had her arms folded and plainly considered the loyalty oath between Mord'Sith and their Lord Rahl to be out of her purview.

"Richard," Denna said, rolling her eyes and twisting out of Cara's grasp to get to her feet. "Don't spoil it. If I'm forced to maintain your dignity as Lord Rahl, I do ask you actually_ have_ some."

This surprised a laugh out of Cara and Zedd, and even Kahlan smiled a little.

Richard grinned reluctantly, flipped open the compass, and led the way toward the Stone of Tears.

* * *

><p>Cara chased down the bandit who had run rather than staying in the clearing and allowing Kahlan to Confess him, glad for the chance to get a moment to herself.<p>

She cared so much for Richard, Kahlan, and Zedd that it hurt, a near constant ache in her heart—they shouldn't matter to her, but they did, and Cara hated the feeling that she was still an outcast.

She caught the villain (who had apparently been kidnapping people so they could be killed by banelings) easily enough, and was in the midst of compelling him to tell her what she wanted to know when Denna appeared, and had the effrontery to save her life.

Cara hadn't been looking—Denna pushed her out of the way and the knife just missed her throat.

Cara caught herself on a tree branch, bark scraping against her glove.

Denna gave her an enigmatic look, and then they both turned to the man who had almost succeeded in killing Cara.

"I don't need your help," Cara snarled, after the information was obtained and the man was dead.

She was shaken, and didn't want to admit it. If Denna hadn't been there—

Denna shrugged, and turned away. "As you wish."

Cara was reminded that Denna was more of an outcast than she would ever be—and part of her gloried in her Sister's disgrace.

The identity of Lord Rahl might change, but Mord'Sith rivalry was forever.

* * *

><p>It took all Zedd's ingenuity to convince Cara to masquerade as the Princess of Thryce, and when he tried to teach her poetry, he nearly despaired.<p>

"I'll do it. I'll play the part," Denna said abruptly. She'd been quiet ever since Kahlan was kidnapped by the Margrave's trained gars, and Zedd couldn't tell if she were worried about Kahlan, or worried about the prophecy.

Lately she'd been stern about Kahlan's safety, insisting that she, Richard and Cara could fight the banelings and Sisters of the Dark who routinely accosted them without Kahlan or Zedd's help, even though Cara still refused to return her agiel.

Denna had gotten quite good with the dacra she'd stolen from a Sister of the Dark, and thankfully, no one had confiscated it.

Nonetheless, Zedd had not expected Denna to go so far as to volunteer to play the princess in order to save Kahlan, whom she hated.

"Excellent," Zedd said, after a beat. "Cara can be your lady-in-waiting. Now, you must—"

Before he could seriously instruct Denna in the frivolous arts of royalty, however, Cara changed her mind.

She snatched the pink dress to her chest, glaring. "I'm doing it," she said firmly. "This is for Kahlan."

Zedd guessed she still didn't trust Denna. A pity—not that it wasn't perfectly possible Denna would use this opportunity to make some sort of bargain with the Margrave or the Keeper.

Still, Zedd doubted it.

"I can sing, stitch, and rhyme better than you can," Denna said matter-of-factly. "And I dance _much_ better."

"You must unlearn everything you know and believe," Zedd said, trying to avert a quarrel by annoying both Denna and Cara at once. "Both of you. To begin with, you must never look any man in the palace directly in the eye. You must never speak your mind on any subject but always defer to the opinion of your masculine betters."

Cara rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing."

Denna clasped her hands together and fluttered her eyelashes wickedly, and Zedd was surprised at the way his heart lurched at the sight.

He blinked, and refocused on Cara. "Exactly the attitude you must abandon!"

She scowled.

* * *

><p>Richard was at the mercy of a Sister of the Dark who held Kahlan's fate over his head like some kind of prophetic doom.<p>

Nicci had dragged him off to find the Stone of Tears, and apparently the only way to save Kahlan, and therefore Richard and the world, was to find a way of undoing the Maternity Spell.

Denna hated magic. She hated Nicci. She hated that Kahlan was so essential to the fate of the world and so they couldn't just abandon her to her fate—not that Richard would ever do such a thing even if Kahlan weren't 'the love of his life.'

She hated Richard for caring so much.

And most of all, she hated that she'd gotten into the habit of thinking of the Mother Confessor by her given name instead of her title.

That woman was too good. But not too good to have warned Denna away from Richard, with a hand curled into a claw and a look that would have sent a weaker woman crying into Underworld.

They would never be friends, but it was hard not to admire that strength, even tainted as it was by sickly sweet emotion.

Denna was uncomfortable with Kahlan's father; she wasn't used to being ignored. She was also uncomfortable with the new information that Kahlan, like the Mord'Sith, had had a difficult childhood with a parent who clearly did not have her best interests at heart.

Finally, the Maternity Spell was broken, and for the first time, Denna saw Zedd perform serious magic. It was one thing to burn banelings alive, which he didn't even do particularly often, leaving Richard, Cara, Kahlan and Denna to clean up and only deigning to burn the bodies when they were finished.

The spell that called Kahlan's mother back from the Underworld was something else.

Denna was awed, in spite of herself.

Zedd had this power all the time, yet only rarely used it…how could he bear not to scatter spells like flower petals, careless and beautiful?

If Denna had that kind of power at her fingertips, would she still be so afraid?

Darken Rahl was in the Underworld, and for now, nothing could have been more finely calculated to keep Denna aligned against the Keeper. But after she helped Richard and Zedd and Kahlan and Cara save the world, she would find a way to save herself.

Caring for others only made a person weak.

* * *

><p>"The Creator…ran away with a boy?" Denna scoffed.<p>

Cara had never felt more in charity with her.

Had she been a devout daughter of the Creator, Cara would likely have been more disappointed in Her earthly presence, like Kahlan. As it was, she was merely bored at this needless interruption.

At length, thank the Creator, the impromptu trial of Richard's methods was over, and they were back on their way.

That night, Kahlan took one look at the way Denna was ruthlessly brushing her hair, and re-appropriated the hairbrush.

"This," she said, holding it up, "is not a weapon…or if it is, it's one that must be wielded with the utmost delicacy."

Kahlan was obviously getting ready for a really good lecture. Cara settled back to enjoy herself.

Richard and Zedd were off collecting firewood, so it was just the three of them in the gathering dusk. It was oddly intimate, like being back at a temple again.

Denna scowled. "Your point?"

Kahlan sat down on a log behind Denna, and pulled her gently by the hair until her head was between Kahlan's knees. The pale gold of Denna's hair was like strands of sunlight across Kahlan's dark skirt.

"Hair like this needs to be treated properly," Kahlan scolded.

Cara got the distinct impression that Kahlan cared more for Denna's hair than for Denna, and grinned at her.

"It's so beautiful, and you're treating it like it's done you an injury," Kahlan complained, letting a few golden locks slide through her fingers. "Brushing your hair isn't about ridding it of tangles—it's about soothing the troubles of the day. You want to take it slow, nice and gentle…"

Kahlan began brushing Denna's hair, her touch delicate and expert.

"I don't have time to fuss about my hair," Denna protested halfheartedly. "If I had my leathers back, I could braid it, but—"

"What a waste, keeping hair like this confined," Kahlan said. "It should be free, loose, warmed by the sun, silky smooth…"

Cara raised her eyebrows. "Are we still talking about hair?" she asked drily.

Kahlan blushed, but she never stopped her expert strokes with the hairbrush.

Denna had her eyes shut in what Cara recognized as sensual enjoyment, and she wished Kahlan would brush _her_ hair.

The increased sympathy she'd felt for Denna started to wane.

* * *

><p>Zedd blinked, and flexed his fingers. What a relief to no longer be under the Nygaax's control!<p>

Richard's birthday party had taken an unfortunate turn when a bereaved father kidnapped Kahlan and Cara and summoned an ancient, undying creature to take revenge on the mayor of the town, who had sent all five of the man's sons to die in the war against the D'Harans.

Richard, with his usual flair, had found a way to rescue Kahlan and Cara from the tomb where they were being held before their air ran out, and then he and Denna and the mayor's son had trapped the Nygaax forever, freeing Zedd from its mindless, terrifying power.

"Don't do that," Denna told Zedd sternly. "You can't go around getting taken over by ancient cloth monsters. A birthday party was bad enough."

"I'm sorry to have caused you inconvenience," Zedd said, concealing his amusement. She was so bossy—but he guessed she'd felt some real concern, and that made it easy to forgive her impertinence.

She was adjusting well to the group, he thought—and, although Richard was still wary of her, Kahlan had apparently decided to make use of her, and was now actually encouraging her to cook for them…which was a very good thing.

Richard and Kahlan were both reasonably skilled with preparing food, but not more than necessary for people who spent so much time traveling, and Cara was frankly awful. By contrast, Denna was a genius, and Zedd did appreciate being able to just sit back and enjoy such creature comforts.

Denna complained that Kahlan treated her like an erring child, but Zedd thought she was showing real maturity.

He watched her all the time, and he saw what she tried to conceal from them all—the moments when her mask dropped, and she was just a soul in pain.

As much as he enjoyed her playacting and her wit, it was those moments that gave Zedd his confidence in Denna's ability to become a better person.

She was cheerful, or as near to it as Mord'Sith ever got, and somehow it seemed Denna had always been part of the quest.

Zedd hoped she could be happy with them.

Then came the night when Zedd awoke to the sounds of someone in deep distress. "No…please, no…take me instead…Delphina!"

Zedd was up and at Denna's side at once. She was asleep, but her thrashing had tangled the bedroll around her limbs, and her breathing was labored.

Richard and Kahlan didn't stir, where they slept with hands outstretched and almost touching. Cara, on watch, cast one contemptuous glance at Denna and then turned back to regard the night.

Zedd sighed, and reached out, probing with his magic…it was probably just a nightmare, but it was always possible Denna had been placed under some kind of curse, from which waking her too suddenly could be dangerous.

He saw only glimpses of what she was dreaming, but they were enough.

A pretty little blonde girl who was unmistakably Denna, screaming as another blonde girl who couldn't have been older than five or six was dragged away by Mord'Sith…Denna running after them, grabbing her—sister?—and clinging for dear life…"We'll take both," a Mord'Sith saying. "It's against protocol, but…"

The next image was in a dark cave, water trickling in ominously down the walls…the other girl was chained to the rock, and Denna, still screaming, was being dragged away by several Mord'Sith.

Denna curled into a ball in a corner, rocking herself and crying, and then an impossibly tall shadow—"She won't break, my Lord," and Darken Rahl, suddenly thrown into sharp relief, bending over Denna and picking her up, apparently caring nothing for the dirt and blood she smeared into his ornate robes—"Oh, yes, she will."

"Denna?" Zedd asked hesitantly.

She moaned, but still didn't wake.

Zedd shook her, and suddenly her eyes flew open. Denna stared at the Wizard for a moment in bewilderment, then proceeded to fling her arms around him, burying her head against his shoulder.

Considerably startled—no matter the horror of her dream, Zedd had not thought of Denna as someone who would accept reassurance—he patted her back and murmured soothingly.

After a moment she pulled away. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't—I'm fine."

"Who's Delphina?" he asked, although he could guess.

"My—my sister." Denna bit her lip. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"She died, didn't she?" Zedd asked. "During training to become a Mord'Sith."

"The Drowning Caves," Denna affirmed. "She was too young…she couldn't—they said she was weak."

Zedd put his arm around Denna, unable to express his sympathy aloud. There were no words that wouldn't seem hollow.

She stiffened. "Don't you dare pity me, Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander!" she hissed. "I survived, didn't I? And I've done worse myself—to Richard and to _you_. I don't want your pity."

Angrily, she brushed the heel of her hand against her eyes, and the next instant she winced.

Zedd let her go, and instead put his fingers to her temples, closing his eyes and concentrating.

"As I thought," he said. "Your nightmares have given you a headache, haven't they? Let me help you."

"You can't help me," she said, looking away.

But Zedd sent a whisper of healing energy through her, gladly taking the purely physical part of her pain upon himself and banishing it from his body with a flicker of Han.

Startled, Denna looked up at him, her lips parted in surprise.

She didn't say anything, however, and after a moment Zedd got up to return to his own bedroll.

"Wiz—Zedd?" she asked, her voice high and unsure.

He turned.

"Thank you," Denna said, as though she'd never spoken the words before.

Zedd smiled. "You're welcome, dear one."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: The Denna Dilemma  
><strong>CharactersPairing**: Zedd/Denna, Richard/Kahlan, Kahlan/Cara (also implied Cara/Leo, Cara/Dahlia, and past Darken/Cara and Darken/Denna)  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: heavily for all of season 2, particularly post Light  
><strong>Beta<strong>: brontefanatic, with my heartfelt gratitude. All remaining mistakes are my own.  
><strong>Summary<strong>: My answer to the discussion question on peoplespalace: What if Denna joined the Merry Band at the end of Light?

* * *

><p>Denna listened in wide-eyed astonishment to the saga of Darken Rahl's unnatural conception and childhood suffering, and then decided that it explained a lot.<p>

She exchanged a meaningful look with Cara, who was maintaining a pose of utter boredom.

She was even moved to feel sorry for Zedd, who was so kind to her. It couldn't have been easy, first having Panis Rahl, a trusted friend, murder your own father, and then later rescuing Richard from certain death as an infant.

Denna marveled at Zedd's bravery, and was once more thankful Darken Rahl remained in the Underworld.

She was laughing at some inconsequential remark of Kahlan's, the sun warming her hair and making the hilt of the Sword of Truth sparkle, when she saw him.

For a moment, Denna couldn't breathe. She thought her heart might burst, it was beating so hard.

Darken Rahl.

She took in details like the grass bent under his feet and the faint odor of sweat carried to her on the wind, and knew this man was no waking nightmare—no figment of her imagination.

Sheer terror held her paralyzed.

Then he saw her.

The terror on the man's face when he beheld Denna was balm to her wounded soul.

"Walter," she purred, unconsciously tensing her muscles preparatory to making a snatch for him. "Long time, no see."

Walter actually shrieked, and Richard frowned reprovingly.

"Rahl?" he asked doubtfully. "Denna, who's Walter?"

"That is not Darken Rahl," Cara drawled, even as Denna prepared to explain.

"Lord—Darken Rahl's body double," she said, gesturing to Walter. "I assure you, the resemblance is _entirely_ superficial."

"Please," begged Walter.

Denna sneered. Of course he had some sob story, but it took Richard and Kahlan in tandem to calm him enough to deliver it, under Denna's watchful eye.

Her very presence was quite enough to reduce Walter to begging, whining cooperation with everything Richard asked.

It was nice to be feared again.

"What did you do to him?" Zedd said. "Or should I not ask?"

Only then did Denna feel slightly defensive. "Nothing. I helped him learn to impersonate Lord Rahl. I didn't even break him—he's just naturally that much of a sniveling coward."

"It takes all kinds," Cara remarked.

If this was an oblique hint to Denna to back off, Cara might have spared her breath; at that moment, Darken Rahl's shade appeared.

Denna swallowed hard.

His gaze swept the group, lips twisting a little as his eyes passed over Cara, before addressing Richard. Apparently, he wanted to exchange the scroll of Valdaire (lost in the commotion with the many-faced Panis Rahl), for Walter's body, and a return to the Land of the Living.

Denna was not sure whether to be glad or furious that he didn't acknowledge her.

The thought of him back in the same world with her made her tremble, and it took all her training to present even a semblance of calm.

Nor could she consider sweet, bumbling Richard much protection…although it would not be wise to discount the fact that he had endured her training without breaking.

Denna knew she could have broken him eventually; she had just gone about it the wrong way. Now that she knew Richard better, it was obvious that hurting his friends or miscellaneous 'innocent' people in front of him would have destroyed his will to resist long before his own pain would have accomplished the task. If she could have made him feel responsible for Kahlan's death…

And then there was Kahlan, who could kill her with a touch and so far had refrained for no reason Denna could see, except for the Mother Confessor's firm conviction that hair like Denna's deserved some consideration…there were worse things to be noted for.

Denna smiled a little, thinking of how Kahlan approved of her hair and how Cara was jealous, even though the uneven cut Triana had given her actually suited Cara.

Richard's hair was boring, but Zedd's was long and silvery. It matched Denna's gold.

She was pulled out of her inconsequential thoughts with a jolt when her eyes met Lord—Darken Rahl's, for one brief instant.

The coldness there made her shiver, even though it was a warm day.

She thought she saw the promise of pain and worse, Lord Rahl's displeasure, in his eyes.

But Richard was Lord Rahl, Denna remembered. She'd sworn the loyalty oath to him, and she had felt the pull of the Bond. She clung to the thought as much as Cara still did.

It got her through the interminable time before Darken Rahl's shade disappeared.

Someone touched her arm, and Denna jumped. _He_ was gone, thank the Creator—though not for long. Richard was already arguing himself into agreeing to Darken Rahl's proposed trade, and it wasn't as though L—Darken Rahl would give them much of a choice.

"Rahl can't hurt you anymore," Zedd promised Denna.

Although she knew it was a lie, Denna clung to the reassurance, and smiled shakily.

Zedd had power—he was the First Wizard. He might be able to protect her.

Denna was surprised to realize that she feared for Zedd as well as herself. L—Darken Rahl was a dangerous enemy. She would not care to lose Zedd—or any of them—even if their deaths permitted her to escape Darken Rahl's vengeance.

Richard was too polite to openly doubt her; Kahlan was peremptory and condescending but otherwise oddly accepting.

Zedd was kind and powerful and easy to talk to and much too forgiving and oddly and persistently compelling…

And Cara—well, she and Denna had been rivals for so long that it had all the comfort of familiarity, and Denna was determined that if Richard was Lord Rahl, she and not Cara would be his First Mistress. It was high time she got her agiel back from her Sister.

Especially now that they were going to resurrect Darken Rahl.

* * *

><p>"Do you think you could take Denna with you to get Renn?" Richard suggested, after Rahl had presented them with a dilemma, a mass extinction, and a scroll that now only had objective existence in his twisted mind.<p>

Renn was a Listener, and Richard hoped that the boy would be able to read Rahl's thoughts—if anyone could.

Kahlan was going to save the nightwisp and her babies, and Richard wouldn't dream of sending her alone; she and Cara were already gone.

The tension between Rahl and Denna was setting Richard's teeth on edge. It was bad enough that Kahlan glared indiscriminately in his wicked brother's presence, and Cara, unusually quiet, seemed determined to ignore him.

Whenever Rahl looked at Denna his lip curled in contempt.

And whenever Denna's unwary glance caught his, the color drained from her face.

Richard remembered, with vivid clarity, Rahl's slighting comment about Kahlan, and how he, Richard, clearly had reason for having brought Cara and Denna on the quest…

And then the studied insult, directed at them all: "Are you running a Mord'Sith Outreach Program, my dear brother?"

Just as though Richard had wanted Cara and Denna to recite the loyalty oath!

But if they were going to insist he had authority over them (or rather, Cara was going to insist he had authority over Denna), Richard could hardly shirk the corresponding responsibility to come to their defense..

Cara was a dear friend, and Denna was…well. Denna was _his_ problem now, not his brother's.

Still, if Zedd could get Denna out of the way for awhile, Richard thought the tension between himself and Rahl might be lessened a little.

He averted his eyes from Denna and Rahl.

Rahl was now whispering venomously at Denna. Creator only knew what he was saying to her.

Richard sighed, and turned back to Zedd. "Well?"

Zedd was watching Denna too. He looked concerned.

"Of course, my boy," Zedd said. "An excellent idea."

This left Richard alone with Rahl, which brought with it new problems.

"Even you can't be foolish enough to trust Denna," Rahl said conversationally. If the sardonic emphasis he placed on 'even you' could be considered polite conversation. "She is utterly without loyalty. A parasite, clinging to you because she fears my vengeance."

Richard could not help wondering if there were some truth in this accusation, but he also couldn't help dwelling on the irony of Rahl warning him about Denna—just as if he, Rahl, were not helping Richard because he feared the Keeper's vengeance. Just as if Richard could really trust either of them, no matter how much he wanted to.

He believed Denna was trying to change. He believed Rahl was trying to change.

But Richard couldn't hazard a guess as to how successful they were going to be.

* * *

><p>Zedd had vowed not to ask what Rahl had said to Denna.<p>

They'd left Richard with his tyrannous brother, and only Renn would be able to save them from Rahl's company on the remainder of the quest. Zedd was anxious to be rid of Rahl, whom he didn't trust.

Renn was their only hope.

It was the first time Zedd and Denna had spent this much time alone since she'd taken him prisoner all those months ago, and he found himself unable to stop watching her.

She was fascinating.

He knew what it was to fight one's way back to the cause of truth and justice after having lost everything—and he knew what it was to feel completely alone.

He hoped Denna knew she wasn't alone anymore.

Zedd hoped Rahl had not convinced her that helping them save the world was folly—although if he had it would be hypocritical, unless of course this was all some deeper game to win back into the Keeper's good graces…

But that was why they were going to get Renn. That, and the information contained in the Scroll of Valdaire.

It occurred to Zedd that Renn might also be helpful in discovering whether or not Denna planned to betray them.

He felt guilty for even entertaining the thought, after the months she'd spent helping them, but there it was.

She was much harder to read than Cara. Zedd knew he was not wrong about Denna, knew in his heart that her remorse was sincere—but he couldn't explain why he was so sure. She was a talented actress.

Her vulnerability, the glimpses he had caught of the woman behind her veneer of sly sophistication—it might all be a trick.

Zedd was sure it was not—but he'd been wrong before.

All the Mord'Sith were unreadable.

Even so, mistrusting Cara would be impossible now. Cara and Kahlan were so close that suspecting one would mean suspecting the other, and Kahlan loved Richard with all her heart.

It was Denna who remained elusive, and Zedd was not such a fool as to discount the immense influence he'd sensed that Rahl had over her mind.

He cleared his throat. "What did Rahl say to you?" he asked, and instantly wanted to take the words back. He hadn't meant to pry into her privacy.

"Nothing," Denna murmured. Then she looked up, and went on without inflection. "He told me I was nothing—weak, disloyal, foolish and helpless."

Zedd reached out to take her arm, but she stopped suddenly, and whirled to face him.

"And he was right," she said, still in that flat tone.

"Friends are for the helpless," Zedd quoted back at her, smiling gently. "At least you have them now."

Denna stepped a little closer. "Are you my friend?" she asked.

"Of course," Zedd said automatically.

Denna reached up suddenly and pulled Zedd down to her, brushing her lips lightly against his.

Then she stepped back and sauntered down the path.

Zedd was left to wrestle in silence with the realization that he might want to be more than Denna's friend.

* * *

><p>"She wants to be a better person," Renn said, frowning. "But she's not sure she can do it. She thinks it would be easier to find a way to sabotage your quest than to complete it."<p>

"I stand by that," Denna said, ignoring the unnerving sensation of having her thoughts spoken aloud. "It would be easier."

She didn't look at Zedd, sure he was disgusted with her. What had she been thinking, kissing him like that? He hated her—and if he didn't, he should.

Richard's mother was also Zedd's daughter. Denna felt she should have known that particular death was going to come back and haunt her…and she wished the Listener's presence didn't make everything she most wanted to conceal rise to the surface of her thoughts.

"Let's go save Richard from Rahl," Zedd suggested.

Denna suppressed the usual frisson of fear at the reminder of her former master, and they started back to Richard.

* * *

><p>Kahlan did not like the look of the Mord'Sith who'd accosted them.<p>

It occurred to her that Rahl might have been right: were she, Richard, and Zedd on some kind of side mission to rescue and reform Mord'Sith?

It was an odd role for a Confessor, but Kahlan endeavored to fulfill it with grace.

But this Mord'Sith was trouble. The way Cara was looking at her made Kahlan's heart sink, and her fingers curl into fists with jealousy.

"The true Lord Rahl is in danger," said the Mord'Sith, whom Cara had addressed as Dahlia. "I need your help to save him."

"Darken Rahl may have used magic to return to the Land of the Living," Cara scoffed, "but Richard is the true Lord Rahl."

"I'm not talking about Darken Rahl, or the Seeker. I'm talking about your son," Dahlia announced.

"Your son?" Kahlan gasped, at the same moment as Richard.

She felt shocked and a little hurt that Cara had never before trusted her with this important information, as well as stricken to the heart at what Cara must have endured. She, Kahlan, wanted children, and could not imagine the pain of giving them up.

"Many Mord'Sith bore children," Cara said defensively.

"Not many bore children fathered by Darken Rahl," said Dahlia.

"Your son is dead," Denna announced.

Cara whirled, hair flying, and pinned Denna to a nearby tree, leaving Kahlan to keep an eye on Dahlia.

Kahlan was not sure she followed all of this, but she was sure that Dahlia was a threat.

"What?" Cara was demanding.

"He was killed at birth, on Lord Rahl's orders," Denna said matter-of-factly. "I thought you knew."

Cara looked stricken, and it was all Kahlan could do not to reach out and hug her.

She turned back to Dahlia, who gasped, "Cara, don't listen to her—you know she's always been a conniving little sneak. You can't just abandon everything we—these people, they don't love you like I do. They couldn't."

Kahlan personally considered that her love for Cara was far more genuine than anything felt by this woman. Using her son against her like that was hardly the action of someone who cared for Cara.

Cara just glared for one long moment, and then she turned away in apparent disgust.

"Cara!" Dahlia cried, starting forward. However, before Kahlan could reach out and Confess her, Denna had smoothly grabbed her white agiel from the holster at Cara's calf and met Dahlia's attack.

It was over quickly, a flurry of moves almost too fast to follow. Kahlan, watching, didn't dare blink lest Dahlia or Denna gain the upper hand while her eyes were closed.

So this was how Mord'Sith fought Mord'Sith. Despite herself, Kahlan was impressed.

Dahlia was plainly desperate. Kahlan saw the moment Denna got under her guard. She pressed her agiel to Dahlia's heart, and the other woman slumped to the ground.

Denna tossed her hair back and sheathed her agiel in a holster at her waist. Her eyes dared anyone to comment, but Kahlan's only concern was for Cara.

She shared a look with Richard, and saw her own sorrow mirrored in his eyes.

After an uncertain pause, Richard flipped open the compass and started walking. Denna and Zedd followed.

"Cara?" Kahlan asked.

Cara looked up, but her face was empty. Free of all emotion, like a statue.

Kahlan hugged her Mord'Sith—hers in a way that Denna wasn't and someone like Dahlia could never be—trying to convey her sympathy without words.

But Cara didn't return the embrace, and when she spoke at last, all she said was, "We should catch up with the others."

* * *

><p>Richard sent Denna, Zedd, and Cara to help some poor innocent villagers escape strangulation by snakevine not long after Dahlia's failed attempt to lure Cara into a trap.<p>

Denna considered this unfair. Richard might want a little time alone with Kahlan, but that was no excuse for separating Cara from the one person who seemed best able to reach her through her grief.

Without Kahlan, Cara lapsed into monosyllabic replies to questions. She inaugurated no conversations on her own account, and Denna didn't know how to talk about what had happened.

Should Denna give Cara the details of her son's death—or what she knew of them? Or would that make it worse?

Denna was not used to such concern for someone else's feelings, particularly Cara's. She was a rival. Denna ought to be using this pain against her, the way Dahlia would have.

But it seemed almost unfair to do so, when Cara was so far from herself.

Denna and Cara yanked the snakevine from the ground, laying the corpses of the plants in neat piles which Zedd then burned.

Sometimes, the snakevine fought back.

Denna found the whole process oddly symbolic.

She knew she was always going to be one of those who fought back.

When the task was complete, they found Richard and Kahlan again. Zedd had to use a magic ring someone was kind enough to actually offer them. With it, he was able to talk with Richard through several tons of solid rock.

It was unnerving to only witness half of the conversation.

But at the end of it, Zedd called out words in an ancient language Denna didn't know, and then the Stone of Tears appeared in his palm.

Denna was impressed, but she did wonder why they couldn't have done that in the first place.

Several awkward minutes later, Richard and Kahlan stumbled through the rock face and joined them.

Zedd held out the Stone of Tears to Richard, but Denna, prompted by a reckless desire to push her luck, snatched it first.

She could have done anything then. Darken Rahl would welcome her back with open arms if she brought him the Stone of Tears. Or the magic it contained might keep her safe even from him.

Richard and Kahlan looked shocked and horrified, and Cara wrapped her fingers around her agiels.

But it was Zedd's expression that brought Denna's fantasies of power crashing down.

He looked hurt.

Shame washed over Denna, and grief that she might cause him pain. Why had he ever given her a second chance? She didn't deserve his kindness or his friendship.

But at least now he was paying attention to her.

Denna smiled slyly, raised the Stone of Tears to her lips, and gave it a mocking kiss.

Then she held it out to Richard. "Lord Rahl," she said sweetly.

Richard took it. Cara let go of her agiels. Kahlan raised her eyebrows, but made no comment.

And Zedd smiled.

The affection in that smile warmed Denna, and she knew she'd made the right choice.

* * *

><p>Cara had not demanded the agiel back from Denna, even though she'd seemed about to betray them. She hadn't.<p>

That was what mattered.

It seemed they were still Sisters after all.

The loss of her son was greater than any Cara had ever suffered, and she hated the feeling that she should have known long before this.

She barely acknowledged any of the others, taking refuge in her most austere Mord'Sith inscrutability.

But Richard had the Stone of Tears now, and they were nearing the end of the quest. They reached the sands not more than a day from the Pillars of Creation before running into any more trouble than miscellaneous bands of banelings or Sisters of the Dark, easily dealt with.

Then Nicci appeared, and sent a bolt of lightning hurtling toward Richard. Without thinking, Cara reached up to block it.

Nicci collapsed to the ground, rendered unconscious by her own magic, and Kahlan hurried forward to Confess her.

If Cara had been thinking clearly, she would have wondered at Nicci's sending magic against two Mord'Sith. She must have known they would just reflect it back at her.

But she was too far away to do anything when Nicci leapt to her feet and Confessed Kahlan with her own power.

Zedd met Cara's eyes, and she knew the only way to stop Kahlan now would be to kill her.

Cara drew her bow as Kahlan rode away after her Mistress. She had thought nothing could reach her heart, but her fingers shook.

The choice was between letting Confessed Kahlan return to Nicci and killing her possibly past hope of revival. Cara's dormant feelings stirred.

She could not bear the thought that Kahlan might die and she, Cara, would be powerless to save her.

Then Denna snatched the bow and arrow from Cara's hands and shot at Kahlan's rapidly retreating back, all without pausing to indulge in any heart burnings, or even something fundamental like aim.

Cara saw Kahlan go down and something seemed to break deep within her. It couldn't be her heart, because that was frozen beyond repair.

Cara paused only to glare at Denna, saying harshly, "If you've damned her past being revived—"

The rest of the thought was implicit, and therefore superfluous. Every second counted with the Breath of Life.

On her knees beside Kahlan with no memory of how she'd even gotten there, Cara called forth the power from her most secret place, that last little flicker of hope at the center of a Mord'Sith's soul.

Kahlan didn't stir for three frantic heartbeats.

Then color returned to her cheeks, she breathed in, she opened her eyes, and she grabbed a handful of Cara's hair and kissed her.

Cara had no fault to find with this rough treatment.

The ice around her heart started to melt.

* * *

><p>Denna concealed her relief that Kahlan had survived even from herself, quickly focusing instead on the heated kiss between Kahlan and Cara and the question of whether or not Richard knew about the Confessor's feelings.<p>

On the one hand, it could be the perfect thing to convince him Cara didn't deserve his trust, or at least not more than Denna. On the other, he deserved to know, even if it hurt him.

And on the third hand (or the foot, perhaps), it seemed unfair that Cara should have succeeded in getting between Richard and Kahlan where Denna had not.

Zedd and Denna reached the two women just as Kahlan said, "we have to go back to the others." She pulled herself reluctantly from Cara's embrace. "Richard needs us."

That much was certain.

Denna glanced at Zedd, wondering what he was thinking. The tension between them of late was masked from their companions with politeness on his side and snide remarks on hers (if she'd forsworn her 'wicked ways,' at least she still had the attitude), but they hadn't been alone together since the kiss.

Did his warm smile when she had given Richard the Stone of Tears mean he forgave her?

Surely not.

But there was no time to think about that now. Denna thought Richard had more sense than to give the Stone of Tears to the Keeper, but she wouldn't feel comfortable until she had him in her sight again.

There was not a second to waste.

* * *

><p>"Richard!"<p>

Richard turned his head desperately, wishing he could see…that had sounded like Kahlan's voice.

And now the unmistakable noise of fighting. "Declan, what's going on?" he demanded.

He didn't know what he would have done without Declan. When glass had come flying out of nowhere and blinded him, the boy Richard had rescued from the dead town near the Pillars of Creation had guided him the rest of the way. They were close, now—soon it would all be over.

"The Mother Confessor's in trouble!" Declan replied, confirming Richard's fears.

"Take this to the Pillars," Richard said, folding Declan's fingers over the Stone. He had to help Kahlan.

"Richard!" That was Denna's voice.

The next instant, her agiel connected with his stomach. "Stop that child!" she screamed.

Richard, taken aback but with quick reflexes, brought his Sword up to meet Denna's attack.

He had no time to mourn that she'd betrayed them after all.

He wondered how long she'd been planning this eleventh hour treachery.

Was she working for the Keeper, or was it his brother who still held her loyalty?

"Richard, get out of my way!" Denna shouted in frustration.

"I won't let you do this!" he screamed.

After that it was a blur. Richard was at a disadvantage because of his blindness, but Denna fought wildly, with apparently no thought for her own safety.

Richard got under her guard and ran her through, even as her agiel found his heart.

Kahlan—he thought desperately, and then he crumpled to the ground.

* * *

><p>"Cara!" Kahlan shouted, running to where Richard and Denna lay, both eerily still.<p>

The Con Dar had inflamed her blood when she saw Cara beset by so many Sisters of the Dark it seemed she must be killed, but now it left her.

Nothing was more important than the fact that Richard was dead.

This couldn't be happening.

It was all her fault.

If she had just run straight to Richard, instead of getting distracted trying to protect Cara—her feelings were a jumble, but she knew she'd betrayed Richard, knew her affection for Cara was wrong…

She didn't acknowledge Zedd and Cara right behind her, as she sank to her knees beside Richard's body.

Cara was on his other side, breathing life back into him as she had for Kahlan…

A tear fell from Kahlan's cheek. She wept for Richard, for Cara, and for the world.

The Keeper had the Stone, and they had already lost.

* * *

><p>Zedd waited in an agony of suspense for Cara to finish reviving Richard.<p>

The boy was his responsibility, as well as being the Seeker of Truth, and most importantly, his beloved grandson.

But the fear in Zedd's heart was only partly alleviated when Richard coughed, and Kahlan smiled tremulously.

He cradled Denna's body in his arms, and not for the first time, wished he had the power to reverse death.

Cara blinked, and then she was there, summoning the Breath of Life once again.

Afterward, she returned to Richard and Kahlan, which was good because Zedd needed a moment alone with Denna, here at the end of the world.

Denna opened her eyes.

Zedd smiled down at her tenderly, unable to think of anything to say that would adequately express his feelings.

At length, he settled on a platitude. "You're all right," he assured her. "You're safe now."

A blatant lie, of course.

By this time, Denna had had ample opportunity to wriggle her way out of his arms, but she showed no inclination to do so.

Instead, she smiled up at him with that look of hers so full of wicked promise, and drawled, "Why, Wizard. I didn't think you cared."

Before Zedd could assure her that he did care, much more than he ever would have expected to, and at least partially against his will, but that hardly signified because they'd lost the Land of the Living and the Keeper was victorious and they were all going to die, Cara asked, "What's this?"

And Zedd and Denna both looked up and beheld a glittering Stone, just like the one Richard had given away.

"How—?" Denna asked.

"I don't—" Kahlan said, staring.

"Your tears," Zedd explained briefly.

And then they all got hurriedly to their feet and made for the Pillars.

* * *

><p>The world was saved.<p>

Denna's relief was profound, despite knowing that Darken Rahl was still alive, out there somewhere and plotting to take back the throne of D'Hara, like as not.

Richard and Kahlan and Cara were all wrapped up in plans of their own, which, if Denna knew Kahlan, would involve going back to Aydindril (that supposed paradise), and if she knew Cara, would involve a Rada'Han and a bed…(Not that a Mord'Sith couldn't manage perfectly well with a floor, or any flat expanse.)

And Denna, in theory making dinner, had Zedd all to herself, and the satisfaction of a different appetite on her mind.

"We shouldn't," he said, when she put her arms around him. But he returned her embrace. "I'm too old for you."

"I died today," Denna pointed out.

Of all the objections he could have chosen, that one worried her least. And she found it oddly endearing that he was apparently feeling guilty for taking advantage of _her_.

"You gave me a second chance," Denna mused, tracing one finger lightly down Zedd's cheek to his lips. "How did you know?"

"Well," he said lightly, "I am the First Wizard, after all."

Denna smiled at that. So much power…it was impossible not to be drawn to Zedd.

It was impossible not to feel grateful for the kindness that had brought her out of her darkness.

It was impossible not to revel in the knowledge that he cared for her, and that his affection was not forced at all.

Impossible—so why try?

She stretched, and kissed him—a real kiss this time.

Then she did something that made him say with a grin, when they broke apart to breathe, "Minx."

Denna laughed. "You love it."

"I do," he said, in such a gentle way, looking at her with eyes full of emotion, that Denna had to swallow back tears.

Mord'Sith did not cry…and she was still a Mord'Sith, even if she had broken every single tenet of her training at least once.

And now she was breaking another.

She was falling in love.


End file.
